Spark-arrester



box; B, the spark arrester ;k C, C, the steam UNTTED sTATEs PATENToEEroE.

ETHELRED MAY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPARK-ARRESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 17,884, dated July 28, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ETHELRED MAY, of

' Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in the Arrangement of Sark-Arresters in Locomotive Steam-Engines; and I do hereby declare thatthe same is fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1,exhibits a view of the smoke box `and chimney of a locomotive steamengine provided with my invention. Fig. 2, is a sectional view of thesame taken longitudinally of the engine.

The nature of my improvement consists in prolonging the spark arresterfrom the chimney or stack down within and near the bottom of the smokebox, and making the prolongation of wire gauze or perforated plates ofmetal and closed at bottom, so that the entire track of the smoke, shallbe through the perforated plates or wire gauze spark arrester asarranged in the smoke box.

Inl the drawings, A exhibits the smoke blast pipes, and D the chimney.This spark arrester as shown in the drawings is represented as acylindrical cage or sieve made either of woven wire or of perforatedsheet metal, it being formed with meshes when it is constructed of wovenwire. These meshes or erforations should be in great number and) of avery small size, in order to arrest the sparks and cinders and allow theesca e of smoke through Ithe said meshes. T e steam blast pipes lead upinto the lower part of the spark arrester, while the chimney is led outof its upper art. For the purpose of gaining access to t e interior ofthe spark arrester, I usually construct it with an opening a, in itsfront, and with a sliding door, b, so adapted to the said opening as tobe capable of either covering or uncovering the same as circumstancesmay re uire. This door may be jointed to a hand ever c, extendingthrough the side of the smoke box, and applied thereto in such manner asto enable a erson to operate the door.

The advantages of making the spark arrester within the smoke box insteadof placing it within the chimney or in a chamber arranged above thesmoke box, and made to communicate therewith by a ilue, are, that thespark arrester is rendered easier of access, when it may be desirable tocleanse it. It causes the sparks and cinders to gather and remain in thesmoke box, from which they can be easily removed. It also enables alarger straining surface to be exposed to the smoke, and it is placed tobetter advantage for the impingement of smoke against it, as well as,for the introduction and operation of the blast pipes.

I do not claim combining with a chimney of a railway locomotive steamboiler, woven netting to prevent the esca e of sparks and cinderstherefrom; nor do claim arranging a perforated or woven wire cone in achamber placed over a smoke box of a locomotive engine boiler and madeto communicate with such a flue surrounding and being concentric withsuch chamber, the same being shown in the patent of R. A. Wilder, datedOctober 31, 1854; nor do I claim surrounding the exhaust pi es with twocylinders, perforated or not, an having the outer one connected withrings with the sides of the smoke arch as described in J. Williamspatent of March 6, 1855; nor do I claim prolonging an unperforatedtubular smoke stack down to near the bottom of the smoke box, andproviding it (the said stack) with one large opening for the receptionof the smoke and products of combustion, but

My arrangement of the spark arrester within the ksmoke box of thelocomotive steam boiler, so that the stack or chimney shall be rolongeddown into the smoke box and ma e of wire gauze or perforated plates andotherwise so constructed as specified, that the entire track of thesmoke shall be through the gauze or perforated plates.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my signature this 25th day ofMay, A. D. 1857.

ETI-IELRED MAY.

Witnesses:

R. II. EDDY, F. B. HALE, Jr.

